Enduring bromance of tennis' 'marathon men'

By Chris Murphy, CNN

Updated 1150 GMT (1950 HKT) March 11, 2013

The marathon men: An unlikely bromance10 photos

The marathon men: An unlikely bromance – American John Isner and Nicolas Mahut will forever be bonded together by their singles clash at Wimbledon in 2010 which became the longest match in tennis history.

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The marathon men: An unlikely bromance10 photos

An emotional journey – Their "marathon match" lasted 11 hours and five minutes and stretched over three days. Both men went through the mill physically and emotionally as the demands of an eight-hour deciding set took their toll.

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The marathon men: An unlikely bromance10 photos

Game, set and match – The game that started as a low key first round encounter at 6:13pm on Tuesday 22 June finally finished at 4:48pm on Thursday 24 June, by which time the two protagonists were heroes the world over. Isner finally won 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-6 70-68.

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The marathon men: An unlikely bromance10 photos

An unlikely bromance – Isner and Mahut embraced at the end of the game and nearly three years on from the match the pair are still close friends. Isner says of Mahut: "He's one of the nicest, classiest guys on the tour."

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The marathon men: An unlikely bromance10 photos

Scores on the doors – The final set went on so long that it broke the scoreboard. Twice. It first became locked at its maximum 47-47, before it locked again at 50-50 and was reset. Spectators were asked to add 50 games onto the score.

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The marathon men: An unlikely bromance10 photos

'An absolute warrior' – Mahut was heartbroken in defeat and suffered another defeat when the pair were drawn to face each other the following year. The 2011 clash ended 7-6 6-2 7-6, took a full nine hours less and featured 149 fewer games.

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The marathon men: An unlikely bromance10 photos

A slice of history – There is a plaque outside Court 18 at Wimbledon to mark Isner and Mahut's slice of history.

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A tall story – Isner's main weapon is his powerful serve helped by his towering height of 6ft 9ins, aptly demonstrated here by CNN Open Court host Pat Cash. To date he has won five singles titles on the ATP Tour but he's hoping success in some of the major tournaments will eclipse the "marathon match" that he's best known for.

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The marathon men: An unlikely bromance10 photos

Team America – Isner is now the top ranked American player in the world and has become an important part of the country's David Cup team. He recently recorded victory over 17-time grand slam winner Roger Federer when the USA took on Switzerland.

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Serb and volley – Isner made his first grand slam quarterfinal at the U.S. Open in 2011 and relishes the big stage: "I think that's one of the main reasons why I beat Federer, I beat Djokovic and I almost beat Rafa at the French Open of all places. That's why you play this game -- to get a crack at those guys. Try to take it to them."

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Story highlights

"Marathon men" John Isner and Nicolas Mahut have forged close friendship

Their first round match at Wimbledon in 2010 is the longest in tennis history

By the end of their 11-hour match they'd become famous the world over

Isner speaks regularly to Mahut who he calls one of the "classiest guys on tour"

You'd think John Isner and Nicolas Mahut would be sick of the sight of each other.

But from the ashes of their record-breaking marathon match at Wimbledon in 2010 -- officially the longest in tennis history -- an enduring "bromance" has blossomed.

It had to, after the pair walked on court for a low-key first-round match in the men's singles draw, limping off three days later after 11 hours of tennis, battered, bruised, fatigued, but lauded as heroes the world over.

Even if either should go on to win a glut of major titles in their respective careers, it is entirely possible they will still forever be known for "the marathon match."

Far from resenting the attention their epic encounter brought them, the pair are firm friends; not surprising, given they are the only players on the planet to know just how much that eight-hour final set, which ended 70-68 in Isner's favour, can take from you.

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"Prior to that match, I knew him but it seemed in passing, I'd give him a head nod, nothing more than that but from that match, I've realized that he is one of the nicest, classiest guys on tour.

"He actually is a really good friend of mine. We keep in touch all the time so we developed a friendship from that match, obviously sharing a court for three days."

Isner is now officially the highest ranked American in the world following Andy Roddick's retirement, but try as he might to move on from the marathon match it is almost always top of the list when tennis fans approach him.

So what was it like to be involved in an episode that transfixed the world?

"Yeah, it was crazy. I don't think people will remember the fact that I won that match. I think it would be more the fact that we played it ... Nicolas Mahut, he was a warrior that day," Isner said.

"I do hear it all the time, it's something that's going to stick with me forever but I've feel like I've done some things out of that match. I've broken the top 10.

"I had a few marquee wins under my belt so I've done some good things to try to shed that label but it's up to me to keep doing more."

Many expected a tight encounter, given the serving prowess of both players and Isner won that battle too, firing down 112 aces compared to Mahut's 103.

For a player who stands at 6 foot 9 inches, Isner's serve is undoubtedly the most powerful weapon in his armory. When it fires, few in the world can live with him, even in this golden age of Federer, Murray, Djokovic and Nadal.

He has five ATP Tour titles to his name, winning twice at the Newport and Winston-Salem events. Last weekend he competed at Indian Wells, where in 2012 he saw off world No. 1 Novak Djokovic before losing to Roger Federer in the final. On Saturday he was beaten in his opening match by Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt.

"If I can get that opportunity where I can play those guys ranked in the top five of the world, that's when I usually see myself raise my game," Isner explains.

"I like playing on those big stages and I think that's one of the main reasons why I beat Federer, I beat Djokovic and I almost beat Rafa at the French Open of all places. That's why you play this game -- to get a crack at those guys, try to take it to them.

"Outside of my serve, I think my forehand is my best shot," he added. "It's no secret. My game isn't rocket science. The more aggressive I am, the better my results are going to be.

"I have to be really aggressive with my forehand. Something that I'm constantly working on. I need to return better. If I can do that, I'll see a lot more success but my serve is my weapon and that's something that I rely on all the time."

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But while that towering frame benefits his imposing serve, it can also hinder his movement around the court. No surprise then, that Isner invests a huge amount of training time on improving his on-court coverage.

"I'm always trying to work on my weaknesses which in the main part is my movement. I can improve that aspect.," he said.

"If I can improve my movement just a little bit, my game will improve a lot so other than that, my height certainly helps me with my serve first and foremost but it's also a bit of a detriment when it comes to moving around the court."

"The game is pretty physical today where you see these guys running down balls. You can't hit a winner on some of these guys but for me, that's not the case."

Isner may have found it difficult to shake off the "marathon man" tag but there are some other things that have stuck with him by his own choosing -- like his love for wrestling.

The spectacle of World Wrestling Entertainment may not be to everyone's tastes but Isner and his friends still gather round to watch it every week.

"Although it is scripted, I do have great respect for these guys. A lot of guys make fun of me but these guys are actually putting their bodies on the line," he said.

"Growing up in North California, me and all my friends, it was pretty sad but our weeks revolved around a Monday night.

"Monday night wrestle would come on and we'd all huddle up and pay per views would come on and I'd get 10 of my friends to come over -- $5 each, so we could pay the $50 to watch the pay per view.

"It's something that I've always liked and I haven't grown out of it either. You know, at 27 at 6 ft 10 ins, I haven't grown out of that stage so for me, it's something I do to pass time on Monday nights."